Author Archives: Kristy Rhine

If you give a girl a cookie…

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

…she’s going to ask for a glass of milk!

IMG_2098[1]

I LOVE milk and cookies.  I heard milk “does a body good”, but does that mean in large quantities and served with a side of cookies? Even so…I do allow it on special occasions.

IMG_2079[1]IMG_2074[1]IMG_2081[1]IMG_2082[1]

These delicious M&M cookies were split between my husband’s office and mine!  Yum!  I love baking and sharing with others!  It not only puts a smile on someone’s face, but hopefully keeps a few pounds off of mine!

This recipe is simply the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip recipe with M&Ms instead of chocolate chips.  I am going to try to venture out next time and see what I come up with!  Stay tuned 🙂

 

Whoppers Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

My family, like many of us, with the start of 2016, made a resolution to embrace a more healthy lifestyle.  So far, so good.

In fact, even when I am choosing to make healthier choices, I can usually bake cakes or cookies and not sample the batter or eat the cookie dough.  So when I decided to bake this wonderful “WHOPPER Chocolate Chip Cookies” recipe I found in my new cookbook, Sally’s Candy Addiction, I was not worried at all about blowing my healthy choices.

However, after I made these, the entire house smelled of warm, fresh from the oven, chocolate chip cookies.  And then I opened my fridge and saw a cold container of milk. Needless to say, I did sample one, maybe two, but that was it! And yes, it was worth it!   I set one aside for my husband and the rest went straight to work the next morning.

I received more compliments on these cookies than any other I have brought to work.  By lunch they were all gone, except for one lonely cookie.  No one wanted to be “that person” who took the last cookie.  Finally, one brave soul grabbed it and I took my empty container home.

These really were a perfect blend of chocolate chips and Whoppers, not to soft, not to hard and had that little something extra that made them stand out from the original Toll-House chocolate chip cookies I usually bake.

IMG_2146[1]

You can find the recipe here or order the cookbook Sally’s Candy Addiction.  If you give these a try, let me know if you love them as much as I do.  You can also send me a message on Instagram!

IMG_2139[1]IMG_2137[1]IMG_2153[1]

Thanks again Sally for a wonderful recipe from your cookbook!  at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/sallys-candy-addiction/

 

Turkey Vegetable Chili

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

It has been over 3 weeks and eating healthier is still on the menu.  So while I was at my local grocery store, with every other person in Austin, I decided to step away from the dairy isle and look up some of my favorite recipes.  It was cold outside and I thought a nice bowl of Chili would be the perfect dinner for my family.

I found this Turkey Vegetable Chili on one of my favorite websites, Cooking Classy.  So I pushed my way through the crowds and carts full of crying children and irritated mothers and found all the ingredients I needed.  I found the shortest line (which was not really short at all), paid and went home to make this delicious Chili! IMG_2121[1]

I was so hungry when I got home, that I immediately began cooking the ground turkey. Then the chopping and dicing began and I basically just added cans of beans, tomatoes, chicken broth and threw it all in together!  Very easy and very tasty.  This was great the second night as well for left-overs. I will be making this again!

Give it a try if you are looking for a healthier version of Chili.  You can find the recipe under Soups here or you can go to http://www.cookingclassy.com/.  I love every recipe I have found and tried from her website.

IMG_2102[1]IMG_2106[1]IMG_2109[1]IMG_2119[1]

 

 

Read any good books lately?

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Books I Love by

IMG_2028[1]

My oldest daughter, Hannah, loves to read.  I mean she LOVES to read.  When she was younger, taking a book away for the day was all the punishment she needed to stop any wrong behavior!! So when she recommends a book for me to read, I usually end up enjoying it immensely.  She gave me three books over the holidays to read.

She had told me before about one of her favorite books by Jodi Picoult, The Storyteller.  She told me several times how much I would love this book.   I told her I would download it on my Kindle, but I never did.  So that is why she ended up giving it to me for Christmas. Sadly, I still had a hard time getting started.

One evening I made myself just start reading…and I am so glad I did!    The book shares various views of different characters and their involvement with the holocaust.   While some of the book was hard to read, as it describes some of the horrors during this time in history, I like how she weaves in a theme of forgiveness.

The main character also loves to bake bread and by the end of this book, I found myself looking up homemade bread recipes!  That may be my next challenge in the kitchen…Challah Bread!

You can’t beat a cold day, warm cup of coffee and a good book.

IMG_2026[1]

Here are the other two books she gave me. I read Sarah’s Key first.  This book also spoke of tragedy during World War II.  It is good for me to be reminded of this time in history.  It makes me appreciate things in my life.

I will read Station Eleven next! Maybe reading in a comfy chair upstairs will keep me out of the kitchen downstairs!  I am still on track with eating healthy in January, so I need all the help I can get!

The Storyteller
Station Eleven
Sarah’s Key

 

IMG_2043[1]

 

You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

…goodbye to cupcakes anyway, and hello healthy cookbooks!
Well, not until I make cupcakes for work first!
IMG_1842[1]

IMG_1844[1]

Okay…I am good on sweets now.  At least until February, when of course I have to bake plate after plate of Valentine treats!  But for now my family and I are all making healthy choices!

I pulled out The Skinnytaste Cookbook again.  I used this many times in 2015 but put away as October came around and I was in the baking/sweets/candy mode.

January always brings about a desire to make changes for the better.  So instead of eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant (for the millionth time in last 2 months) I stayed home and made the Buttermilk Oven “Fried” Chicken.  I made this a few times last year and my family really liked it.  This time I followed the recipe in full (I usually take short cuts) and the chicken was so moist and was just enough with my sweet potato. Give this a try if you want great flavor, fewer calories, and don’t want to feel as if you are giving up on taste.

IMG_1765[1]

Recipe for Chicken is here on my blog as well as cupcakes.  Here are links to both.

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/09/20/white-wedding-cupcakes/print/
http://www.skinnytaste.com/p/cookbook.html

(My husband took this pic…teasing me that this is his new beer/food blog!  He thinks he is so funny!)     Not bad for a first try!! 🙂IMG_1753[1]

Drinks and a Movie

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

It may not be cold in December in Texas, but January usually does not disappoint. So whenever we finally get a “cold front”, I crave something warm.   I love this recipe from Sallys Baking Addiction for apple cider.   (http://sallysbakingaddiction.com) I also have it listed under recipes if you want to try it.

Sallys Baking Addiction Apple Cider
Chopping Apples

Since our temps turned below 50, I wanted to curl up with a good book or movie as I drank my warm apple cider.  My daughter, Claire, opted for a movie.   She asked to watch Les Miserables.
I have never turned down the chance to watch this wonderful movie, and watching it with my daughter makes the time even more enjoyable!  Great way to spend time together before she heads back to college!  IMG_1818[1]

Homemade Beef Stew…Yum

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

I have a tried and true Beef Stew recipe from a wonderful friend from Louisiana. She gave it to me about 25 years ago and I have used it many times since.

IMG_6085[1]

1st Recipe box 1989

I went to my lovely blue and mauve recipe box (from my wedding in 1989) and could not find it in there!  I will find it one day, many years from now, when I clean out all my cabinets.  But I wanted to make the stew for dinner,  so off to Pinterest and other blogs I went in search of an amazing Beef Stew recipe.

I found this one on Pinterest and put it on my board.  You can also find the recipe here.  I still love my friend’s stew, but this one certainly is one I will make again and it was perfect on this cold winter evening.

IMG_1643[1]

tasty vegetables

IMG_1645[1]

searing the meat

IMG_1644[1]

cry, cry, cry

IMG_1657[1]

making the cornbread

IMG_1661[1]

delicious

IMG_1682[1]

Beef Stew

Time Flies When You’re Having Fun!

Posted in 2015 Travel Adventures, Adventures in the Kitchen by

Time does fly!   It is hard for me to believe over a year has gone by since I started my blog, PALATABLE ADVENTURES.

I looked over my goals in starting this blog…
This blog is to hold me accountable to teach myself and my girls cooking basics and two new recipes per month.  Inspiration may come from
~places we have been
~recommendations from friends and family
~or from sources of interest like Pinterest or just good old fashioned cookbooks

As I look at my purpose in doing this, I see that it accomplished what I wanted and more.  I learned many new recipes.  I found my children in the kitchen with me, learning as well.  I sampled various types of foods from places I have visited, and tried to recreate them at home.  And my pictures, while still amateur, have improved from last January.  I have actually loved these Palatable Adventures.

~Sweet Adventures

Recipe found on food blog
Love it!

~Movie Inspired Adventures

Sound of Music while eating Austrian Dish
It’s Complicated

~Healthy Adventures.

~(not so) Healthy Adventures.

Delicious!

~Traveling Adventures.

I’m in a New York State of Mind
Roman Colosseum
Austria
Austin
Lady Liberty
Me and Hannah at JFK
Venice
Florence, Italy

I look forward to 2016 and the adventures that await, the people I may meet and discovering what God has in store for me.

 

A few of my favorite things….

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

 

…holiday baking with my girls

Christmas

…Christmas work parties and celebrations with family

…decorating our Christmas tree together while watching White Christmas

…all of us in the kitchen together preparing our Christmas lunch

…reading the Christmas story before opening gifts

…because Jesus is the Reason for the Season…

For Unto Us A Savior Is Born!

IMG_1538[1]

 

Visions of Sugar Plums

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

…or Sugar cookies!  I love looking back on Christmas as a child and the memories that were made during the holidays.  My mom made many different sweets over the years, and all were delicious!   But one of my favorites was her sugar cookies.  My three sisters and I loved when she made these.

I loved to stay up late with her and  help decorate.  The TV would be on in the background, my dad asleep by now in the chair and my mom in the kitchen baking away.

What a privilege it was to be able to pass this recipe on to my three girls and create our own memories of  baking and decorating cookies.   I may not have my three little girls beside me in the kitchen, but I  was blessed to have my 19-year old help me tonight!

IMG_1368[1]IMG_1402[1]IMG_1413[1]IMG_1406[1]IMG_1427[1]